The present invention relates to an exercise device capable of achieving an exercise of human body about the trunk of the human body using the upper part or both the upper and lower parts of the human body, and more particularly to an exercise device capable of effectively carrying out an exercise of wrist joints and trunk using arms and legs.
Most of known exercise devices are configured to be used for exercises of individual parts of human body. Where it is desired to obtain exercises of various parts of human body, a plurality of exercise devices respectively required for those exercises should be used. However, this is expensive. Although exercise devices having a multiple exercise function are also known, they have a configuration in which a plurality of exercise mechanisms having different exercise functions are simply combined. In such exercise devices, accordingly, it is impossible to expect an effect of an exercise of the whole body through exercises of individual parts of the body obtained by the exercise mechanisms.
In order to solve the above mentioned problems, an exercise device has also been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,222 issued to the inventor. This exercise device includes a common load unit which has an independent or common use for several exercises suitable for various parts of human body. The exercise device has an advantage in that a variety of exercises for individual parts of human body can be achieved. This exercise device also includes a pair of levers and a leg support unit. In accordance with upward and downward movements of the levers, an exercise of wrist joints is carried out. However, the levers should be operatively connected in order to return the levers positioned at their upper position to their lower position. For such an operative connection, additional elements should be used. This results in a complexity of the overall construction and an increase in the manufacturing costs. Due to such problems, there is also a limited utility.
The leg support unit of the exercise device disclosed in the patent is constructed to be movable. The exercise device also includes a knee hold unit constructed to be movable. The exercise device further includes a seat plate and a back plate which are constructed to adjust the height or inclination thereof while being fixed during an exercise. Accordingly, exercises can be carried out using the lower part or upper part of the body in this exercise device. However, where an exercise using only the lower part of the body is carried out, little movement of the upper part of the body occurs. For this reason, the exercise device has a drawback in that it is impossible to carry out an exercise of the whole body using both the upper and lower parts of the body.
Referring to FIG. 43, a conventional seat unit applied to exercise devices is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 43, the seat unit includes a seat plate 102 and a back plate 104. Where the seat plate 102 and back plate 104 are hingably connected to each other by a hinge 150, there is a height difference between the hinge and the upper surface of the seat plate 102 or back plate 104. When the back plate 104 moves hingably with respect to the seat plate 102, the facing ends of the seat plate 102 and back plate 104 get near or away from each other due to the height difference between the hinge and the upper surface of the seat plate 102 or back plate 104. Where an exercise is carried out using an exercise device, to which the above seat unit is applied, while the back plate 104 moves hingably with respect to the seat plate 102, an unbalance occurs between the movement of the body and the movement of the seat unit because the movement center of the seat unit, namely, the position of the hinge 150, is spaced from the movement center of the body, namely, the center of the wrest joint. For this reason, there is an inconvenience in the exercise. For example, the shirt of the user may be taken off during the exercise.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems involved in conventional exercise devices, and an object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a simple and inexpensive configuration including an exercise load unit connected to a movable knee. hold unit, and a seat unit having a seat plate and a back plate which are selectively or completely movable during an exercise, irrespective of whether or not a leg support unit having foot holders is in a fixed state or in a movable state, thereby being capable of achieving a variety of exercises for the whole part of the human body using the upper body or lower body, or using both the upper and lower bodies.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration not only including an exercise load unit comprised of the weight of a user transmitted to a movable frame of the exercise device during an exercise or a variety of load units, the exercise load unit being connected to a knee hold unit via a load transmission unit, thereby, being capable of selectively transmitting an exercise load to knee holders in accordance with the direction of an exercise such as an extension or flection exercise, but also including an initial exercise thrust generating unit connected between a movable frame of a seat unit and a fixed frame and adapted to generate a thrust for exercise at the initial stage of the exercise.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including a distance adjusting unit adapted to adjust the distances between a foot holder and a knee holder, between the knee holder and a seat plate and between the foot holder and seat plate in accordance with the lengths between the foot and knee of the user and between the knee and wrist joint, thereby being capable of meeting the body length and shape of the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including an upper body flection/extension exercise unit connected to the back plate frame of a seat unit and adapted to achieve a flection or extension exercise for the upper body of the user, thereby achieving an exercise for the epigastric muscle of the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including a knee holder moving unit adapted to temporarily move knee holders, thereby providing a space for allowing the user to sit down on the exercise device to carry out an exercise or to rise up from the seat plate after the exercise.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including a foot holder pressure adjusting unit adapted to not only achieve a flection exercise only using the knees of the user under the condition in which no considerable resistance is applied to the feet of the user, but also to achieve an exercise for the crook muscle of the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including a shift preventing unit adapted to prevent the seat and back plates of a seat unit from being spaced from each other when the angle defined between the plates varies, thereby being capable of adapting the heap and back portions of the user about his wrist joints to the seat and back plates of the seat unit about their hinges.
Another object of the invention is to provide an exercise device having a configuration including a repeated extension/retraction exercise unit which can be used in combination with or independently of exercise devices according to the present invention, the repeated extension/retraction exercise unit including an exercise load transmitting unit comprised of a rope or wire and being adjustable in length, thereby being capable of achieving an exercise for the body such as an exercise for the latissimus dorsi muscle and an exercise for the dorsal muscle in various exercise directions.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides an exercise device comprising a seat unit having a seat plate, a back plate, support legs and associated frames completely or selectively assembled together, a leg support unit having foot holders, and a knee hold unit, the exercise device carrying out an exercise using the leg support unit and the knee hold unit, further comprising: means for allowing the knee hold unit to be movable; exercise load means connected to the movable knee hold unit; means for allowing the leg support unit to be selectively movable or fixed during an exercise; and means for allowing a selected one or all of the seat and back plates of the seat unit to be selectively movable or fixed during an exercise.
The present invention also provides an exercise device comprising, completely or selectively in combination, initial exercise thrust generating means, distance adjusting means, upper body flection/extension exercise means, knee holder moving means, repeated extension/retraction exercise means, foot holder pressure adjusting means, and shift preventing means.